John Maine throws a warm-up pitch in the visiting bullpen of Waterfront Stadium, Trenton.

Took a Minor League baseball trip with my dad and sister yesterday to catch the Binghamton Mets take on the Thunder, the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, at Waterfront Park in Trenton, N.J.

The Bingos got shellacked -- not too surprising since top 10 prospects Reese Havens and Kirk Nieuwenhuis were both banged up and out of the lineup. (A minor setback in my plan to set my sis up with Havens before he's playing second base in Citi Field. Sigh.)

But we did get to see John Maine's first rehab start as he attempts to work his way back from tendonitis in his right shoulder.

Maine's line was solid -- 4 IP, O R, 5Ks, 1 H, 2 BB -- and according to the radar guns the scouts seated around us behind the plate had, his fastball was ranging 87-88 mph, so the fact that the outing wasn't a repeat of the 82 mph-disaster from a few weeks ago was good news.

He threw 63 pitches and started out wild, walking the first batter with four straight balls before finding his command.

All in all, I'd give his outing a B.

Maine gave way to former supplemental pick Brad Holt, who continued his downward spiral from top-prospect status by yielding six runs in an inning and a third. Offensively, the lone bright spot was infielder/outfielder Eric Campbell, who went 3-for-4 with a homerun and is hitting .333 in Double-A.

As for the big league club, they're making the most of this soft spot in the schedule, devouring the Orioles this weekend. Hopefully they can keep it going in Cleveland. Folks, the Mets are in second place, a game and a half behind the Bravos and are legit.

PS: A special thank you to my wife, for editing a bunch of fuzzy Maine clips into something semi-watchable!